13 quotations showing how ‘utilize’ can weaken sentences
Corporate communications often contain jargon and needlessly complex verbs. One writer shows how silly the term can sound.
Most corporate writing is full of weak, meaningless verbs.
Consider “implement,” “leverage,” “disseminate,” “promulgate” and the most impotent verb of them all, “utilize.”
Like many Ragan readers, I’ve spent much of my career translating corporate-speak into clear, comprehensible English. I’ve changed “utilize” to “use” more times than I can count.
No matter how many times I explain that “use” is preferred—that it’s simpler and less pretentious—someone insists on using “utilize” because it “sounds better.” The “bigger words will make me sound smarter” myth strikes again.
To demonstrate how ridiculous use of the verb “utilize” is, below are quotations in which “use” is replaced with the offending verb:
1. “Utilize it or lose it.”—Jimmy Connors
2. “Utilize the force, Luke.”—Obi-Wan Kenobi
3. “Never utilize a long word when a short one will do.”—George Orwell
4. “Always be wary of people who utilize quotes. I don’t know who said that.”—Murdoc Niccals
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